Thomas McFadzean Jr.'s Photos

Comment Wall (13 comments)

You need to be a member of Navy Veterans to add comments!

Boot camp for me was the Great Lakes in February of 1967 with two foot of snow on the ground.

My first duty station was aboard the USS Raleigh LPD1 out of Norfolk until January of 1969.

Then I was attached to the VQ-4 squadron at Patuxent River Naval Station until my discharge in November of 1970 as an ABH3.

It would great to hear from a shipmate who served at either one of these commands.

USS Raleigh was a great ship with a great crew and also many great Marines aboard as well. The long nights and long days were made more comfortable by the friends you served with. And then there was mid rats. Special!

PAX river was also a great tour of duty with a lot of things to do there.

Hi Tom,There were two vrf squadrons,31 and 32.They divided their areas at the Mississippi River and somewhere in the Pacific I believe.They each served half the globe,Transporting planes to and from various commands.Our pilots were qualified on five different aircraft.We lost one in the desert while flying a plane to the Navy junkyard at Beeville Texas.

I served on the Jersey 1954-56. I was born there also (Matawan) 1935. There a a bunch of guys who served and still live in NJ. I cannot hold that against them. I was a Teleman. Worked in Radio one "C" Div. I have lived in San Antonio, Texas since January 1966. I am currently the VP of the USS New Jersey Vets. I joined from NY where I grew up. (Queens) That's it for now